by Peter Amsterdam

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

God, in His love, sent His Son into the world at a specific time and place to live as a human being, to die on a cross, and to be raised from the dead to redeem fallen humankind, so that humanity would have the opportunity to enter into His kingdom and into a special relationship with Him. The four Gospels tell this story—the story of a unique human being, a Galilean Jew, a person who in many ways was very much like everyone else who has ever been born. At the same time, He was very different from anyone who has ever lived.

The Gospels tell us what made Jesus different. They teach us that He came into the world to lay down His life for humankind, and how through His death and resurrection humanity could enter into a new relationship with God. He didn’t come to teach people how to be good; He came to give them the power to be good through the supreme sacrifice He made for us all. There is no other story as important as this one, because how people respond to this unique individual—Jesus—determines their destiny for eternity. It’s through this story that we understand the great gift that is offered to us: the gift of becoming a child of our Father in heaven, the means to become a part of His family, and the wonder of living with Him forever.

The Gospels lay the foundation of Christian belief. It’s within their pages that we learn that Jesus was more than a good or righteous man, more than a teacher of morals and ethics, and more than a miracle worker. It’s within the Gospels that we find that Jesus, this unique individual, is the Savior promised by God. It is from the Gospels that we learn of the fulfillment of the promise God made, that through the ancient Hebrew patriarch Abraham all the world would be blessed.

Read introduction to this series in full

• The Four Gospels
• The Setting
• Rulers and Religion
• Jesus’ Birth (Part 1)
• Jesus’ Birth (Part 2)
• Jesus’ Birth (Part 3)
• Jesus’ Birth (Part 4)
• Jesus’ Birth (Part 5)
• The Young Jesus
• John and Jesus (Part 1)
• John and Jesus (Part 2)
• John and Jesus (Part 3)
• The Test
• Gospel Differences
• Teaching Methods
• First Contact
• Wedding and Wine
• The Disciples (Part 1)
• The Disciples (Part 2)
• Coming on the Scene
• Synagogues and Sabbath
• Hometown Visit
• Authority
• The Kingdom of God (Part 1)
• The Kingdom of God (Part 2)
• The Kingdom of God (Part 3)

The Sermon on the Mount

• Introduction
• The Beatitudes (Part 1)
• The Beatitudes (Part 2)
• Salt and Light
• The Law and the Prophets (Part 1)
• The Law and the Prophets (Part 2)
• The Law and the Prophets (Part 3)
• The Law and the Prophets (Part 4)
• Vows and Oaths
• Non-Retaliation
• Love Your Enemies
• Right Motivation (Part 1)
• Right Motivation (Part 2)
• How to Pray (Part 1)
• How to Pray (Part 2)
• How to Pray (Part 3)
• How to Pray (Part 4)
• How to Pray (Part 5)
• How to Pray (Part 6)
• Treasure—Here or There?
• Anxiety
• Judge Not
• Ask, Seek, Knock
• Do Unto Others
• Four Sketches (Part 1)
• Four Sketches (Part 2)
• Conclusion

Miracles

• Miracles (Part 1)
• Miracles (Part 2)
• Miracles (Part 3)
• The Son of Man
• Miracles (Part 4)
• Miracles (Part 5)
• Miracles (Part 6)
• Miracles (Part 7)
• Miracles (Part 8)
• Miracles (Part 9)
• Miracles (Part 10)
• Miracles (Part 11)
• Miracles (Part 12)
• Miracles (Part 13)
• Miracles (Part 14)
• Miracles (Part 15)
• Miracles (Part 16)
• Miracles (Part 17)
• Miracles (Part 18)

Discipleship

• Discipleship (Part 1)
• Discipleship (Part 2)
• Discipleship (Part 3)
• Discipleship (Part 4)
• Discipleship (Part 5)
• Discipleship (Part 6)

• Healing from a Distance (Part 1)
• Healing from a Distance (Part 2)
• Healing from a Distance (Part 3)

The “I Am” Sayings

• The Bread of Life (Part 1)
• The Bread of Life (Part 2)
• The Light of the World
• The Resurrection and the Life
• The Door
• The Good Shepherd
• The Way, the Truth, and the Life
• The Vine

• Jesus on Love (Part 1)
• Jesus on Love (Part 2)
• Fire from Heaven (Luke 9:51–56)
• The Mission of the Seventy-Two (Part 1)
• The Mission of the Seventy-Two (Part 2)
• Persecution
• Jonah and the Queen
• Light
• Six Sayings (Luke 12:1–10)
• Conflict with the Pharisees (Part 1)
• Conflict with the Pharisees (Part 2)
• Conflict with the Pharisees (Part 3)
• Conflict with the Pharisees (Part 4)
• Isaiah’s Prophecy
• Peter’s Profession of Faith
• Peter’s Rebuke
• The Transfiguration
• Elijah, John, and Jesus
• Martha, Martha
• The Temple Tax

The Feast of Tabernacles

• The Feast of Tabernacles (Part 1)
• The Feast of Tabernacles (Part 2)
• The Feast of Tabernacles (Part 3)
• The Feast of Tabernacles (Part 4)
• The Feast of Tabernacles (Part 5)
• The Feast of Tabernacles (Part 6)

• The Father and the Son (Part 1)
• The Father and the Son (Part 2)
• The Father and the Son (Part 3)

• The Feast of Tabernacles (Part 7)

• The Adulterous Woman
• Jesus and the Tax Collectors
• Healing the Blind Man
• Women Supporters and Disciples
• The Charge to the Twelve
• A Brother’s Sin
• A Family Dispute, True Blessedness, and Herod’s Threat
• Jesus and the Children
• Jesus and the Scribe
• Two Unique Healings
• Are You the Christ?
• Divorce and Remarriage
• Three Incidents
• The Pharisees Plot
• Healing of the Ten Lepers
• The Sons of Zebedee
• Zacchaeus
• Anointing at Bethany
• Entry into Jerusalem
• The Barren Fig Tree
• The Question of Authority
• The Seven Brothers
• Jesus’ Question and the Widow’s Offering

Mark 13 and Matthew 24

• Prediction About the Temple (Part 1)
• Prediction About the Temple (Part 2)
• Prediction About the Temple (Part 3)
• The Coming of the Son of Man (Part 1)
• The Coming of the Son of Man (Part 2)

• Final Judgment by the Son of Man
• The Greeks
• The End of His Public Ministry
• Moving Toward His Passion and Death
• The Passover
• Washing the Disciples' Feet (Part 1)
• Washing the Disciples' Feet (Part 2)
• Washing the Disciples' Feet (Part 3)

John 14-17

• John 14: The Way, the Truth, and the Life
• John 14: The Helper
• John 14: I Go to the Father
• John 15: Abide in My Love
• John 15: If the World Hates You
• John 16:1–12
• John 16:13–22
• John 16:23–33
• John 17: Jesus’ Prayer (Part 1)
• John 17: Jesus’ Prayer (Part 2)

• Gethsemane (Part 1): Jesus’ Prayer
• Gethsemane (Part 2): The Arrest
• Gethsemane (Part 3): Jesus’ Trial and Peter’s Denial
• The Trial Before Pilate
• Jesus Before Herod

The Death of Jesus

• The Death of Jesus (Part 1)
• The Death of Jesus (Part 2)
• The Death of Jesus (Part 3)
• The Death of Jesus (Part 4)
• The Death of Jesus (Part 5)

The Resurrection

• The Resurrection (Part 1)
• The Resurrection (Part 2)
• The Resurrection (Part 3)
• The Resurrection (Part 4)

• Final Appearances of Jesus (Part 1)
• Final Appearances of Jesus (Part 2)
• The End of the Gospel of John (Part 1)
• The End of the Gospel of John (Part 2)
• The Ascension (Luke 24:50–53)